Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Thermal Ecology And Swimming Performance Of Native Tadpoles Dryophytes Femoralis In Central Florida, Jessalyn Aretz

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Urbanization and climate warming have contributed to global amphibian declines in recent decades. Amphibians are particularly vulnerable to climate and urban-induced warming because their physiological processes are dependent on temperature across all life stages, but few studies have been done on tadpole responses to warming in comparison to adult responses. The study objective was to determine how the thermal ecology and swimming performance of a native Florida tadpole varied with rearing temperature and urban level, and whether these traits are plastic or adaptive. We collected eggs from wild populations of pine woods treefrog (Dryophytes femoralis) tadpoles at an urban and …